A U.S. Coast Guard cutter that was navigating the Tasman Sea as part of a maritime security partnership with Australia and New Zealand was aware of the presence of Chinese naval vessels in the region but did not engage with them, stated its commanding officer on Tuesday.
The Chinese navy conducted live-fire drills in international waters between Australia and New Zealand on Friday and Saturday, which Australian officials have called unprecedented. These exercises necessitated the rerouting of 49 commercial flights for safety reasons.
Australian and New Zealand defense forces are monitoring the movements of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy frigate, cruiser, and refueling vessel involved in these exercises.
The U.S. Coast Guard national security cutter Midgett docked in Sydney on Saturday after arriving from New Zealand.
“We were conscious of their presence,” said Captain Matthew Rooney, commanding officer of the Midgett, addressing reporters in Sydney about the Chinese vessels on Tuesday.
“Our operations were unaffected. We adhere to international protocols and regulations to avoid collisions at sea and had no encounters, and we would anticipate that the Chinese navy would do the same,” he remarked.
Euan Graham, a senior analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, indicated that these exercises marked the furthest south the Chinese navy had conducted drills, demonstrating that China could project its power without needing a naval base in the South Pacific.
He suggested that China might be gauging the diplomatic resolve of Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, their security ally.
“This is a clear indication that China does not feel deterred from operating near the U.S.’s closest ally in the Pacific,” he noted.
A representative from China’s foreign ministry stated on Friday that the People’s Liberation Army Navy had been executing exercises and training in distant waters, maintaining safety standards in line with international laws and practices.
Since 2024, the U.S. Coast Guard has expanded its operations in the South Pacific to patrol against illegal fishing by distant fleets, including those from China, at the invitation of Pacific Island nations.
In 2025, China registered numerous coast guard vessels for fisheries patrols in the Pacific Islands for the first time, however, none have been deployed yet.
China utilizes its coast guard to affirm its maritime border claims in the South China Sea.
Rooney mentioned that the U.S. Coast Guard is present in the Pacific to “help nations uphold their national sovereignty through bilateral agreements that support operations within their exclusive economic zone to deter malign activities and prevent the poaching of marine resources.”
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Captain Rebecca Levitt, the commanding officer of the HMAS Kuttabul fleet base in Sydney, stated that Australia has “an extensive area of ocean that we need to safeguard and maintain stability in the region, and we cannot accomplish that without the United States.”
The Midgett will proceed next to Papua New Guinea for an illegal fishing patrol.
